Note 114 — Chapter VII · THE ŚAIVA-DARŚANA.

These four feet are the four stages of religious life (see J. A. O. S. iv. pp. 135, 180), called in Tamil sarithei, kirikei, yokam, and gnánam. The first is the stage of practical piety and performance of the prescribed duties and rites; the second is that of the "confirmatory sacrament" and the five purifications involved in true pújá; the third is that of the eight observances of the yogin; the fourth is that of knowledge which prepares the soul for intimate union with God.